The second race of the season’s first triple header gave us an exciting race with plenty to talk about, let’s look at what we learnt from the Bahrain Grand Prix.
McLaren Stay Ahead
Oscar Piastri showed his class in a dominant display from start to finish in Bahrain. His second pole position and second win of the season were obtained quite comfortably. With his teammate unable to keep up, Piastri truly stepped up in the fight for the World Drivers’ Championship. Although the weekend started fine, with Lando Norris topping the session in FP1, it soon became clear that championship-leader Norris was struggling and could not compete with Piastri. Norris was very visibly disappointed with sixth in qualifying, but a good start in the race saw him jump to third. An investigation for incorrect positioning at the race start earned him a five-second penalty, which he served but then had to contend with the Ferrari cars (both before and after the safety car), who pitted later than him. In the end, a podium finish sealed a topsy-turvy weekend for Norris who still leads the Drivers’ Championship.
Red Bull Having Issues
Yuki Tsunoda scored points (9th) on his second outing as a Red Bull driver, making it the first double points finish for Red Bull since Las Vegas last year. However, the Bahrain Grand Prix left Max Verstappen quite unhappy as nothing seemed to go well for him during the race itself. Qualifying in P7, enduring slow pit stops and having no pace to compete with the front runners saw the reigning champion finish the race in sixth. Red Bull will be looking for upgrades to help solve their issues and hush any questions about Verstappen’s future at the team.
Mercedes Delivers Again
After being labelled “Mr. Consistent”, George Russell has once again proven he is the right man to lead Mercedes into the future. Both Mercedes drivers were given a one place grid penalty post-qualifying for rule breaches but they made sure to make the most of the race to impress. Russell was able to hold off Norris (McLaren) to secure another podium, leaving him 4th in the drivers’ standings. Antonelli used this grand prix to display some excellent race craft as he battled with former champions Hamilton and Verstappen, just missing out on points in P11.
A Good Weekend For Ferrari
Ferrari’s weekend entailed much better fortunes than their Japanese Grand Prix weekend. Charles Leclerc engaged in an exciting battle with Norris towards the end of the race, but was unable to keep the McLaren behind him and had to settle for P4. Lewis Hamilton’s best-ever finish for Ferrari in a grand prix saw the seven-time world champion claim P5 behind his teammate, solidifying a decent weekend for the Italian team.
Points On The Board For Alpine
Pierre Gasly had a strong weekend for Alpine. He qualified P5, but started P4 after Antonelli’s grid penalty. He managed to take home points, finishing seventh (his highest finish of the season so far), just a couple of seconds behind Verstappen. Rookie Jack Doohan, who is under some pressure for his seat at Alpine, narrowly missed out on a Q3 appearance. Unfortunately, he was unable to collect any points from the race and is still looking for his first points of the season.
Another Double Points Finish For Haas
Ollie Bearman produced a stellar comeback story with a marvellous P20 to P10 drive, helping Haas come away with double points for the second time this season. Bearman was the highest placing rookie from the race. Esteban Ocon had a heavy crash during qualifying, leaving him 14th at the end of the session but had a positive turnaround when he took home an eighth place finish.
VCARB, Aston Martin & Williams Trundle Along
Both Isak Hadjar (VCARB) and Liam Lawson (VCARB) ended the weekend pointless, with Lawson still yet to score points this season. In the Aston Martin garage, things did not go so well, with neither driver able to make headway and score points. It has been a difficult start to the season for them so far. Carlos Sainz (Williams) finally managed to outqualify his teammate Alex Albon in Bahrain, also making his second Q3 appearance of the season. Unfortunately for him, the race did not go so smoothly, and a series of incidents saw him retire on Lap 47. Albon did not have the best of weekends and also finished outside the points in 12th.
More Of The Same For Sauber
A bleak weekend for Sauber in Bahrain saw Gabriele Bortoleto finish P18 and last of the classified drivers, while Nico Hulkenberg was disqualified post-race for excessive skid block wear.
Written by Ellie and Leslie.
Featured Image Credit: bbc.co.uk
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